We are told Rudolph’s glowing red nose gives off an infrared signal that can be detected by NORAD’s satellites. If this doesn’t convince the kids that Santa is on his way, nothing will.

Leading up to the big day, kids of all ages can explore Santa’s Village, play games and watch movies. Like Santa, the site can speak to children in many languages, including English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Chinese and Japanese.

In the early days, curious kids had to telephone North American Aerospace Defense Command to find out Santa’s flight path. Thanks to modern technology, including satellites, radar and GPS, today’s it’s all done by computer.

NORAD won’t reveal its top-secret tracking techniques, but we know a combination of radar, satellites, Santa-Cams and fighter jets are used from the moment his sleigh leaves the Elves and Mrs. Claus at the North Pole until takes off to its return landing.

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ecoXplorer Evelyn Kanter is a journalist with 20+ years of experience as a newspaper and magazine writer, radio & TV news producer & reporter, and guidebook and smartphone app author – all focusing on travel, automotive, the environment and your rights as a consumer.

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